Cradle of Filth Band T-Shirts
Date: 2008
Region: New Zealand
Subject: Explicit Sexuality, Profanity
Medium: Clothing
Artist: UK Metal Band "Cradle of Filth"
Confronting Bodies: Police of Invercargill, Bill Hastings and Internal Affairs.
Dates of Action: 2008, 2011
Location: Invercargill, New Zealand
Description of Artwork: "Vestal Masturbation (Cradle of Filth) Band T-Shirts. An image of a nude nun masturbating is placed on the front of the shirt, with the words Vestral Masturbation beneath. On the back of the shirt is the sentence, "Jesus is a Cunt".
The Incident: In June 2008 police raided the South Invercagill clothing shop "Impuls'd" and seized Cradle of Filth "Vestral Masturbating" T-Shirts. Certain community members were upset by the language and images on the shirt and lodged community complaints.
Results of Incident: Later in the month, a teen wearing the shirt in Australia was arrested for wearing the explicit and decidedly distasteful material on the street. He was charged with offensive behavior under the country's Summary Offensive Act 2005. New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. are continuing to seize shirts and arrest patrons using obscenity laws and hate speech codes.
Source: Censorship: Price, Steven. "T-shirty." Media Law Journal. 2 June 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.